Remote Work Guidelines for Leaders
Dear Gables and Marine campus leadership colleagues (non-UHealth/MSOM),
Thank you all for your flexibility and creativity in working through remote staffing solutions during such challenging times. The health and well-being of our University community remains our top priority and our approaches and policies remain fluid as we quickly try to address new concerns.
As national, state and local guidance around COVID-19 continues to restrict gatherings and strengthen social distancing practices, the University is continually assessing its practices and adapting accordingly. In order to keep the University operating, it is important that we increase our temporary work-from-home arrangements for those whose work can be performed at home.
The temporary pay policies previously communicated as well as those outlined below will be effective through April 17, 2020. We will continue to update as necessary and may modify or extend provisions as necessary.
Except for critical operations that need to be performed on-site, certain student contact activities, and teaching-related support, President Frenk, EVP/COO Travisano, Provost Duerk, and senior leadership are requesting that all other functions be performed from home whenever possible. It is their expectation that managers will determine who needs to remain on campus and employees must comply with those directions.
If a manager (including faculty who oversee staff) determines that an employee’s job function cannot continue to be performed on campus due to safety or other changing conditions and cannot be performed at home, such employees will be eligible for paid administrative leave, with advance approval from Human Resources. Employees in this status must remain accessible and may be required to perform secondary job functions at home or in the workplace. The goal is to reduce the number of employees physically working on campus to only those necessary to do so.
We recognize that equipment needs are a challenge for some employees. With the manager’s approval, IT has arranged for workplace equipment to be brought home, the procedures for which are outlined below. Some employees have asked about cost sharing for the use of personal cell phone devices and we are working on a retroactive payment policy that will be issued shortly. We ask that your employees follow the Remote Access & Expectations guidelines referenced below and input all work-at-home arrangements into Workday so that we can identify the location of employees.
Updated FAQs are also being posted on the coronavirus website to address additional questions received by HR or that surfaced on the Telecommuting survey sent to all Gables/RSMAS employees.
We are here to help in whatever way we can, and I encourage you to reach out to your HR Partner or me with any questions or concerns.
Mary Harper Hagan
Vice President
Human Resources
TELECOMMUTING GUIDELINES
This guide outlines key considerations, and university guidance specific to COVID-19 workforce planning, including information that may be different from existing HR policies to ensure continuity of operations.
During and after remote work implementation, we will evaluate what was learned and build into our business continuity plans.
Priorities & Essential Work – Evaluate department/team priorities, considering student/faculty/patient/stakeholder impact and feasibility of completing some or all of job duties remotely (with or without adjustments).
Ownership of Remote Work Plan – Managers and supervisors, in partnership with their college/unit leadership and HR, are responsible for the remote work plan for each department/team.
Timing & Preparation –Managers may require employees to work from home.
Consider alternating or rotating schedules for your team where on-site presence is required and reevaluate this approach on a weekly basis. The idea is that, in general, team members could share on-site responsibilities but not all members may need to be on-site every day. Rotational teams would mean that there is no overlap of the employees on site.
Remote Work Scope – The University encourages supervisors to afford maximum flexibility during this time to help minimize the spread of COVID-19. Determine who, based on job responsibilities, can work remotely. Consider whether positions that do not traditionally lend themselves to remote work be temporarily modified to allow for its use (e.g. by focusing on other work elements such as online training, project work, policy review, etc.).
Technology & Internet Connectivity – Identify who has a laptop.
Employees whose only option is to use a personally owned computer, laptop, or other device, are still responsible for following all university practices and policies to maintain security on their device. Please refer to UMIT Policies.
Faculty and staff on the Gables and Marine campuses who have already or will soon be taking computers home for remote work should send an email to their supervisor and to securityoperationsteam@miami.edu. The email should include: the model and serial number and/or service tag of the device(s). UMIT will confirm that the device is encrypted; which they can do remotely and will not need to go to the employee’s desk or home. Once confirmed, UMIT will send a note back to the employee and supervisor confirming the computer is encrypted. If the device is not encrypted, UMIT will work with the employee to encrypt the device. For technical issues, please contact the UMIT Service Desk at (305) 284-6565 or help@miami.edu.
Employees who do not have scanners may use their phones to take pictures of documents for general administrative documents as long as it isn’t involving personal health information covered by HIPPA or other confidential information. For assistance encrypting a phone, please contact the UMIT Service Desk at (305) 284-6565 or help@miami.edu.
Remote Agreements & Expectations –To assist with telecommuting access requests, Workday has implemented the WalkMe ActionBot located on the bottom right corner of your Workday home page. The ActionBot provides the employee with assistance on completing a variety of business processes including the Alternative Work Arrangement - COVID-19 request. All employees who are working from home must complete the work-from-home request section and forward to managers for approval so that we have an accounting of work location. For assistance please contact your HR Partner. For any technical issues, please email workday@miami.edu.
Meetings – Determine what tools you will use to hold meetings virtually. Identify which upcoming meetings can/should be rescheduled if necessary. Practice holding meetings remotely before increasing remote work use. Click here for tools you can use. Those remaining on campus are guided by the CDC to limit gatherings to under 10 people per group, per the government’s directive on group gatherings.
Collaboration/Communication – Determine what the preferred group communication and collaboration tools will be and ensure all team members have access. Determine how frequently you as a leader will connect with your team members. Click here for tools you can use.
Time & Performance – Discuss with employees how time and performance will be managed. Once remote work begins, in general, focus on the output and the completion of deliverables when evaluating performance.
Expense payment for phones - we are developing a policy to provide a cell phone pre-tax payment to individuals who were required to use their personal cell phones and were not otherwise receiving a University stipend.
Overtime - Where it is determined that telecommuting would be feasible, (including both exempt and non-exempt employees), employees who telecommute must comply with all University policies related to timekeeping.
The University’s pay practices will remain consistent with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for non-exempt employees who may work remotely due to COVID-19. Therefore, it is critical that managers are vigilant in ensuring that non-exempt employees work their regularly scheduled hours. If the manager needs the non-exempt employee to work additional hours, any shift differential and overtime hours will be processed during the applicable pay period.
When department operations permit non-exempt employees to work remotely, managers should ensure that:
- Hours worked are accurately entered in Workday
- The employee will be paid for hours worked at their regular hourly rate of pay
- Any overtime pay has been approved in advance by the employee's supervisor
- If the employee works overtime hours that are not authorized, the employee will receive pay for those hours
- If unauthorized overtime continues, the employee may be subject to disciplinary action
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